Alumni Spotlight: Krystan Clupny
Please join us in welcoming our new Alumni Network Project Developer to the team!
Name: Krystan Clupny
Location: Manitou Springs, CO
College: New Mexico State University
Degree: BA Journalism & Mass Communications
Contact: krystan@summit.org
What did Summit mean to you?
I attended Summit after my freshman year of college. I had just experienced a year of life at a state university, living in a dorm community, and professors who disagreed with much of what I stood for. Two weeks at Summit equipped me to think deeply about what I had been taught my entire life. It prepared me for the rest of my time in college. Summit’s faculty didn’t just give me answers for the tough questions, they taught me to seek out the answers and to realize that we will never have all the answers, and that’s ok. I learned that it was ok to say “I don’t know” as long as I was willing to keep pursuing truth.
How did you get involved with Summit?
After attending a Student Conference in 2005, I applied to staff. In 2007 and 2008 I served as a Summer Staffer and I loved every minute of it. It grew me in my ability to lead a small group, gave me a passion to see others grow deeply in their faith and in who God created them to be, and gave me a community that became more like a family than I ever imagined. After graduating from college, making two moves back-and-forth from New Mexico to Colorado, and working for a year and half at Focus on the Family, a door opened for me to come back to Summit to serve at Summit in the Business Office then the Advancement Office. And now, as of February 2nd, I get to serve the Alumni Network!
What’s been your greatest challenge/how have you overcome this challenge?
I’ve spent some time pondering this question and I’m still not certain how to answer it. With each year that passes it seems that there are days with challenges and blessings greater than I have ever faced. However in those challenges and through my own successes and failures I see God’s grace and mercies ever abundant. That probably sounds incredibly cliché, but I’m even more convinced of it every day. Tomorrow may hold wonderful surprises or extreme grief but through all of those situations I learn more about myself and more about the nature and goodness of my Father. This story he is writing, dear friends, is a wonderful one, and we get to be a part of it.
If you could offer one piece of advice, what would it be?
Find people to pour into your life and find people to pour in to. By nature, I try to handle things on my own. But we’re not called to do this life alone. And don’t just find people your own age. It’s really easy to build your life around people who are just like you. If you’re a young woman, go find someone who you think “I really want to be like her some day” and go learn how she got to be that amazing godly woman. I assure you, she probably wasn’t everything she is now when she was 28. If you’re a young man, go find a man who you admire and look up to. Learn from him. Hear his story. Share your story. I’m certain that you’ll find that you both have things to learn from each other. Be willing to give and be open to receive.
Name: Krystan Clupny
Location: Manitou Springs, CO
College: New Mexico State University
Degree: BA Journalism & Mass Communications
Contact: krystan@summit.org
What did Summit mean to you?
I attended Summit after my freshman year of college. I had just experienced a year of life at a state university, living in a dorm community, and professors who disagreed with much of what I stood for. Two weeks at Summit equipped me to think deeply about what I had been taught my entire life. It prepared me for the rest of my time in college. Summit’s faculty didn’t just give me answers for the tough questions, they taught me to seek out the answers and to realize that we will never have all the answers, and that’s ok. I learned that it was ok to say “I don’t know” as long as I was willing to keep pursuing truth.
How did you get involved with Summit?
After attending a Student Conference in 2005, I applied to staff. In 2007 and 2008 I served as a Summer Staffer and I loved every minute of it. It grew me in my ability to lead a small group, gave me a passion to see others grow deeply in their faith and in who God created them to be, and gave me a community that became more like a family than I ever imagined. After graduating from college, making two moves back-and-forth from New Mexico to Colorado, and working for a year and half at Focus on the Family, a door opened for me to come back to Summit to serve at Summit in the Business Office then the Advancement Office. And now, as of February 2nd, I get to serve the Alumni Network!
What’s been your greatest challenge/how have you overcome this challenge?
I’ve spent some time pondering this question and I’m still not certain how to answer it. With each year that passes it seems that there are days with challenges and blessings greater than I have ever faced. However in those challenges and through my own successes and failures I see God’s grace and mercies ever abundant. That probably sounds incredibly cliché, but I’m even more convinced of it every day. Tomorrow may hold wonderful surprises or extreme grief but through all of those situations I learn more about myself and more about the nature and goodness of my Father. This story he is writing, dear friends, is a wonderful one, and we get to be a part of it.
If you could offer one piece of advice, what would it be?
Find people to pour into your life and find people to pour in to. By nature, I try to handle things on my own. But we’re not called to do this life alone. And don’t just find people your own age. It’s really easy to build your life around people who are just like you. If you’re a young woman, go find someone who you think “I really want to be like her some day” and go learn how she got to be that amazing godly woman. I assure you, she probably wasn’t everything she is now when she was 28. If you’re a young man, go find a man who you admire and look up to. Learn from him. Hear his story. Share your story. I’m certain that you’ll find that you both have things to learn from each other. Be willing to give and be open to receive.
